Ministers have opened the door to Russia building nuclear reactors on British
soil, signing an agreement describing it as a “realistic longer-term
ambition”.

The memorandum of understanding, signed in Moscow by energy minister Michael Fallon, said that “mutually profitable commercial relationships between Russian and British companies in third markets could form the basis in the longer term of commercial cooperation in the UK”.

This would be achieved through an “incremental, step-by-step approach”.

Mr Fallon said: “Inward investment into our energy sector will depend upon all reactor technologies meeting the stringent and independent regulatory standards required in the UK and EU.”

The agreement came as Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation, commissioned Rolls-Royce to prepare the ground for its reactor to seek UK safety approval.

Rolls-Royce, which already has a partnership with Rosatom, will “undertake engineering and safety assessment work” ahead of Rosatom’s reactor “potentially entering the first step of the UK’s formal regulatory approval process”.

Reactors have to pass a ‘generic design assessment’ from the Office for Nuclear Regulation before they can be built in the UK. EDF-Areva’s reactor design for proposed use at Hinkley Point in Somerset took five years to approve.

Rosatom said it viewed the UK as “an attractive opportunity” because most of the UK’s existing reactors are due to close in coming years.

Russia has made no secret of its desire to expand in the UK but has to convince politicians it can overcome security fears as well as safety concerns stemming from its role in the Chernobyl disaster. In June ministers agreed to create a joint working group on “cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy between Rosatom and DECC”.